297418 (2000 SP43)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 297418 (2000 SP43)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.41 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 10,222,659 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

297418 (2000 SP43) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2000 SP43 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2000 SP43 orbits the sun every 267 days (0.73 years), coming as close as 0.43 AU and reaching as far as 1.19 AU from the sun. 2000 SP43 is about 0.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

The rotation of 2000 SP43 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.31 hours.

Close Approaches

2000 SP43's orbit is 0.02 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2000 SP43 has 30 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 20, 2019 10,222,659 15.602
Dec. 8, 2025 27,894,800 14.747
Sept. 24, 2030 18,026,273 10.907
Sept. 20, 2038 13,419,364 16.264
Dec. 8, 2044 27,277,670 14.287
Sept. 23, 2049 17,992,967 10.904
Sept. 20, 2057 10,300,797 15.601
Dec. 8, 2063 29,281,316 15.545
Sept. 28, 2068 23,678,050 10.494
Sept. 19, 2076 3,060,832 13.718
Sept. 23, 2084 27,762,032 19.277
Dec. 9, 2090 26,470,004 12.182
Sept. 21, 2095 12,139,773 11.645
Sept. 22, 2103 13,707,603 16.304
Dec. 9, 2109 28,449,600 15.174
Sept. 29, 2114 22,338,277 10.552
Sept. 20, 2122 5,504,236 14.537
Dec. 9, 2128 29,870,748 15.911
Sept. 28, 2133 21,733,790 10.588
Sept. 21, 2141 11,820,971 15.914
Dec. 11, 2147 26,716,530 13.965
Sept. 23, 2152 14,779,567 11.272
Sept. 22, 2160 18,420,195 17.296
Dec. 11, 2166 26,371,603 13.483
Sept. 24, 2171 15,357,072 11.197
Sept. 22, 2179 12,607,319 16.061
Dec. 9, 2185 29,002,270 15.477
Oct. 1, 2190 24,574,472 10.434
Dec. 6, 2193 29,273,197 10.475
Sept. 21, 2198 4,655,942 13.091

Images and Observations

2000 SP43's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 25, 2000. It was last officially observed on Dec. 27, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,148 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2000 SP43:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8115 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4669
  • Inclination: 10.34°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 350.54°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 224.45°
  • Mean Anomaly: 251.23°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.40700 km
  • Magnitude: 18.52
  • Albedo: 0.388

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 267 days (0.73 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.07 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.19 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.43 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.31 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 297418 (2000 SP43) is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2000 SP43 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.